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2021 (8) TMI 1014 - GUJARAT HIGH COURTSpecial audit u/s 142(2A) - AO Jurisdiction to give directions for a special audit - necessary approval of the Principal Commissioner of the Income Tax or not? - HELD THAT:- Assessing officer after going through the said material seized during the search operations and after following the due procedure of giving reasonable opportunity of hearing to the petitioners and after obtaining necessary approval of the Principal Commissioner of the Income Tax as contemplated in Sub-section (2A) of Section 142 has directed the respective petitioners vide the impugned directions to get their accounts audited by the nominated accountant, and to furnish the report in the prescribed form, also setting forth the requisite particulars as prescribed in the questionnaire. Such directions could neither be said to be arbitrary, illegal nor beyond the scope of the said provision. It is neither permissible to the Court exercising the jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution to enter into the disputed questions of facts, nor is it possible for the Court to analyse each and every direction and come to the conclusion whether it is bad in law or not. The submission of Mr.Soparkar that if some of the questions, which seem to be bad in law cannot be segregated, the entire impugned order containing the directions be quashed and set aside, also cannot be accepted. It is axiomatic that when an authority has a jurisdiction to pass an order, the exercise of jurisdiction in wrongful manner in certain cases even though held to be illegal, would not necessarily render the order a nullity. All irregular or erroneous or illegal orders cannot be held to be null and void. In the instant case, as set out herein above the Assessing Officer does have the jurisdiction to give directions for a special audit under Section 142(2A). Even the impugned directions also do not suffer from any illegality or infirmity. In any case, even if two-three queries out of forty five queries are found to be unwarranted, as sought to be submitted by Mr.Soparkar, the entire order giving directions can not be set aside treating it to be a nullity. In that view of the matter, both the petitions being devoid of merits deserve to be dismissed. At this stage, the request made by the learned Sr. Advocate Mr.M. R. Bhatt for the respondent to exclude the period during which the present petition remained pending in the High Court after issuance of the notice i.e. from 14.6.20201 till this date, deserves to be considered for the purpose of Section 142(2C) - See VLS FINANCE LTD. & ANOTHER VERSUS COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX & ANOTHER [2016 (4) TMI 1133 - SUPREME COURT] Applying the ratio of the afore-stated judgement to the facts of the present petitions, it is directed that the period during which both the petitions remained pending i.e. from the date of issuance of notice on 14.6.2021 till the date of pronouncement of judgement, shall be excluded while counting the period prescribed in the proviso to Sub-section (2C) of Section 142 of the said Act. Subject to the said direction, the petitions are dismissed.
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